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The ride back from Exegol was an odd one; if that was a way to put it.
Rey sat at the pilot's seat of Luke’s old X-Wing, gripping onto the control handles tightly as she thought about her return to The Resistance's base. Finn and Poe were waiting for her there. Chewie, C3PO, R2D2, BB8, and the rest of the resistance as well. And don't get her wrong, she was eager to see them again. Her friends... her family . But with all the scenarios swirling around in her head, she couldn't think of a single decent one that would help the sleeping, ex-enemy in the back of the ship, feel more at ease.
Rey glanced behind her towards Ben, watching as he rested in his seat. His head was tilted to the side, his cheek squished slightly against his shoulder. She smiled to herself at the sight before looking forward again, the forest moon edging closer by the second.
They had kissed, not even an hour ago. They had embraced each other, stared into each others eyes, whispered each others names, and then they kissed. Rey replayed the image of Ben's smile in her mind like it was some sort of drug. It was addicting. She could look at his smile a billion times or more, and never grow tired of it.
After that, she and her new-found partner (is that what you would call it?) limped alongside each other to the ship. They had only just reached the entrance hatch when Ben slumped down in her arms, passing out from exhaustion. He had slurred out a little apology to her, in which she promptly chuckled and reassured him that he should take a moment to regain his strength. All he could muster was a relieved smile and a gentle caress of Rey's hand.
Touching down on Ajan Kloss, Rey took a deep breath, noticing Finn and Poe off in the distance immediately. Without a second thought, she got up from her seat and exited the ship. Perhaps her best choice was to let Ben sleep a bit longer, and slowly warm her friends up to the fact that she brought along her… unexpected… ally.
"Rey!" Finn shouted, pushing himself through a crowd of rebels with Poe at his tail. Rey locked eyes with him and smiled brightly, rushing over to jump forward into his open arms.
"Thank goodness you're safe," Rey hiccuped, breaking away to look at him carefully before turning to pull Poe into another hug, "You too. You're safe too."
Poe smiled into Rey's hair, holding on tight for a good couple of seconds before finally pulling away. The three stayed close to one another, basking in each other's presence.
"Are you injured?" Poe asked urgently, looking Rey up and down like some sort of doting, overprotective, older brother. "I have no idea what the hell you were doing but Finn was driving himself crazy because of a... feeling?"
Rey looked over at Finn questionably, but was only given a look that said 'we'll talk later' .
"I'm fine." Rey shook her head, looking back over at Poe while squeezing his arm comfortingly, "Well, I think I am. Now I am."
" Now ?" Finn repeated, his voice squeaking ever so slightly. "What’s that supposed to mean?"
Rey watched them for a moment's hesitation, trying to figure out what could possibly be the best way to tell them that maybe she died. And that maybe the one person who had been hunting them down constantly was the one who had revived her, and was currently now passed out in Luke’s ship.
"Maybe it's best if I just—" Rey grabbed onto their hands carefully, giving them both a cautious look before pulling them off towards the ship she arrived on.
Poe sputtered out a series of questions and complaints as he stumbled after her. Finn, on the other hand, stayed silent as he watched Rey with concern. Earlier, he had felt her spirit diminish somehow, he was sure of it. And yet… here she stood.
As they neared the hatch of the ship, Poe’s rambling was suddenly cut off; his now fierce gaze focused on something behind the Jedi. “Hold it,” he snapped, pulling his hand away to swipe his blaster off his hip, and point it forward.
Immediately, Rey is in front of the sleepy Ben Solo who stood at the entrance of the ship. He looked both relieved to see Rey was still there, but nervous about the blaster pointed straight at his nose.
“Wait! No, Poe, he’s good. He’s fine.” Rey spoke quickly, eyeing him carefully before glancing over to Finn who looked doubtful, but willing to listen. “He–He saved me. With Leia. He saved us all.”
Rey looked up from over her shoulder to make eye contact with her former enemy. He looked back down at her with a gentle expression, just a small hint of a smile on his lips. “ We ,” he corrected, voice hoarse after having just woken up.
Poe hesitantly lowered his blaster, looking between the two with confusion. “Wh–”
“Wait a second.” Finn spoke up, gaining everyone’s attention. “That look you’re giving each other. What is this?”
Rey stiffened up slightly, uncharacteristically shy as she stared off to the side. “Well–”
“– No… ” Finn spoke in a low disbelieving tone, shaking his head as he walked closer to the two force users.
“Y–” Ben started, looking between the others awkwardly, “Yes?”
Rey managed a timid smile as she helped Ben walk down the ramp, her hand pressed up gently against his hip. Finn immediately zeroed in on this detail, and gave her a pointed look.
“We have a lot to talk about,” Rey admitted.
“ Really .” Finn replied.
***
“So you died,” Poe spoke slowly, eyeing Rey down before looking over at Ben from the corner of his eye, “Both of you.”
Ben shrugged a shoulder uncomfortably, not liking the prying gaze of his former enemy. Especially in such close proximity. “Sort of. It’s complicated.”
“Such is the life of a Jedi.” Rey added, resting her hand on Ben’s shoulder as a sort of comfort.
They all sat in silence, taking in the news at their own pace. That is, until Finn chose to speak up with a semi-unrelated topic.
“So… Are you two a—a thing?” He asked, rubbing his sweaty hands against his thighs, “Like… you kissed, right? Wow okay… that’s weird to think about.”
Poe looked over at him with an odd look before looking at the Jedi duo. “Typically I would say I’m against it. I mean this is Kylo R—”
“—Ben Solo.” Rey corrected, a bit red and flustered from the topic. “And I… well… a thing?”
Ben stayed silent as he watched the three rebels. There was a small hint of a smile on his face.
“Guess you need to talk about it, huh?” Finn muttered, narrowing his eyes at Ben’s expression before sighing. “I guess that’s to be expected. After all, you died, then kissed, and then you,” he pointed to Ben, “ You died. And then got brought back to life.”
“And then he fell asleep.” Rey bit her lip.
Finn huffed in disbelief. “You two are just drawn to the darkness, aren’t you?”
Ben’s smile disappeared, taking his rhetorical question as jab. Sensing Ben’s mood, Rey got up from the stump she was sitting on, pulling Ben up with her. “I think we both need to go rest now. Say hi to the other rebels,” She listed before giving Finn and Poe a small smile. “You two should get some rest as well.”
They both frowned up at her, but nodded anyway, watching as she left them alone.
After a good few minutes of silence, Poe turned to Finn to speak. “I think they’ll be fine. As much as I hate to say that.”
Finn kept his gaze on where Rey and Ben disappeared before looking down at the dirt. “Yeah I agree. I could sense the ‘dark side’ was leaving him. I guess. I don’t know.”
Poe furrowed his eyebrows at that, wanting to ask about this weird force sensitivity Finn was experiencing, but stopped himself as he realized that was a topic for another time.
Instead, he reached forward to take Finn’s hands into his own, pulling them towards himself gently so that the former storm trooper would look him in the eyes. “Rey has more brain than either of us,” he smiled, “If she trusts him, then we should be able to feel at ease. Leia always told me I needed to relax, right? I should get on that.”
Finn snorted, gripping onto his partner’s hands. “You’re right. I could do with some relaxation right about now.”
Poe watched as Finn gave a sly smile before letting out a shaky response, “ Oh… ”
***
“I got many odd looks.” Ben complained in a grumpy manner, standing in the center of their tent awkwardly. “I should be locked up.”
Rey sighed adjusting their sleeping arrangement, “I’m not locking you up, Ben.”
“At least I shouldn’t sleep beside you tonight. It isn’t right.” He argued further, merely watching her plop pillows and blankets onto a cot. “This tent is amazingly unguarded.”
After finishing up, Rey walked over to Ben with a fixed look. “You’ll be fine. You’re staying here with me and that’s the most protection you’ll ever need.”
Ben watched her cautiously, before giving in and looking towards the cot shyly. “There won’t be room.”
“We’ll make room,” Rey spoke, turning to walk away while putting her hair down. “Come on.”
He hesitated, shaky as he watched her become so comfortable in her surroundings. She was just… wonderful , and that’s all his tired mind could think as he followed her to the cot.
Sitting down, Rey patted the spot beside her, smiling when Ben sat beside her.
With a moment of silence, she brought him into her arms carefully, hugging him both tightly but comfortably. He had taken a moment to adjust their positions to their sides, laying down, before bringing her closer, nuzzling his face into her hair.
This closeness… this sense of security… this love. He didn’t realize how much he yearned for it—how long he waited for it. And here she was, to her own accord.
Breaking apart only slightly, Rey looked up at Ben with a smile that put all his nerves to ease.
“You’re alright,” she whispered, reaching up to brush his bangs out of his face, “You’re here, with me. You’re here.”
Ben smiled sweetly, reaching up as well to brush his thumb against her cheek. “I’m here.” He agreed.
This time, he was the one to kiss.